Guide bar means for cloth folding machine



Jan. 10, 1956 w. DEICHMANN GUIDE BAR MEANS FOR CLOTH FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 3, 1952 F IGJO.

R m m m r52 Dam/mum 2,730,357 GUIDE BAR MEANS FOR CLOTH FOLDING MACHINE Walter Deichm'ann, Mineola, N. Y., assignor to Cutting .Room Appliances Corp., New York, N. Y.,-a corpora- 1 tion of New York Application June 3, 1952, Serial No. 291,438 1 Claim. (Cl. 270'86) and without undesirable gathering or bunching of the cloth,- into two layers of half the original width of the bolt of cloth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved folding frame in which the cloth is led over an upper guide rod of substantial length, the device being so constructed as to minimize friction as the cloth passes thereover, While at the same time avoiding bending of the upper guide rod out of its axis intermediate its ends. Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved upper guide bar for a cloth folding attachment, which includes a plurality of rollers mounted on anti-friction bearings, with intermediate support means having generally the same contour as the rollers and being in alignment therewith,- all designed and constructed to minimize friction, avoid gathering of the cloth, andpermit high speed movement of the cloth through'the folding attachment.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved cloth folding attachment of the type described, which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufuture, and highly effective for use with most types of cloth measurin and inspection machines.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which:'

Fig; l is a perspective view showing one form of cloth measuring and inspecting machine, with my improved cloth folding attachment mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a perspective" view similar to that of Figure 1, except that the cloth is shown in movement through the machine and the cloth folding attachment device.

, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper portion of the cloth folding attachment apart from the other-portions thereof. i

the device shown in Figure 3, with its rollers and cooperating elements shown in exploded spaced relation thereto for clarity of illustration.

Fig.- is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 4; taken on plane 5--'5 of Figure 4.

Fig.- 6 is an elevational sectional view of the middle portioriof the device as seen on view-lines 6-6 of Figure Sty-theview being in fragment. 2

Fig 7 is a fragmentary sectional eleavtion taken on plane 7- -7 of Figure 6, broken lines indicatingthe cloth.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational partly brolten out view of Fig. 8 is a sectional elevational view taken on plane 8- 8 of Figure 6, the cloth being indicated in broken lines.

Fig; 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the left upper portion of the device shown in Figure 3.

Fig. 10 is a perspective detail view showing the snapon curved central guide element shown in exploded position in the upper central portion of Figure 4.

This invention is a continuation in part of the copending patent application, Serial No. 93,896, filed May 18, 1949, for'Cloth Measuring Machines, now U. S. Patent No. 2,690,308 and reference is made thereto for additional details of construction of the cloth inspection and measuring machine illustrated as an example, in Figures 1 and 2 hereof.

In the cutting room it is frequently necessary to take a roll of cloth and fold it right down the middle, so that the selva'ges are brought into alignment. The present invention discloses an improved folding attachment which may be employed for this purpose, and which may be mounted right on any of many types of cloth measuring and inspecting machines. When it is used, a perfectfold can be made in a continuous process, without gathering or bunching of the cloth at any point, friction being minimized.

In order to understand clearly the nature of the invention, and the best means for carrying it out, reference may now be had to the drawings, in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown-in Figures 1 and 2, there is a cloth measuring and inspecting machine 20 of a type, by example only, shown inconsiderable detail in the copending patent application, Serial Number 93,896, filed May 18, 1949, for Cloth Measuring Machines.

The cloth measuring and inspecting machine 20 has a frame with right and left end frame walls 22 and 24 respectively, made of metal or other suitable material, with integral feet 26 adapted to rest upon the floor of the room in which the machine is placed. Openings such as those shown at 28 may be made in the end frame walls in order to lighten their total weight, and to render the parts of the machine more visible to the operator, suitable flanges being providedto increase the strength of the walls.

The end frame walls are interconnected atvarious por-' tions by guide rods such as shown at 30, 32 and the like, to maintain the walls in upright parallel positions. A laterally movable bracket 34 has a stub shaft 36 carrying a cone 38 for insertion in one end of a supply roll of cloth the other end of which extends rightwardly therefrom and is supported in a similar conical end of a second stub shaft journaled in the right wall 24 of the frame so that cloth may be unrolled therefrom as it passes through the machine.

The shaft 32 carries a laterally movable bracket 40 with a stub shaft 42 journaled therein and carrying a flat conical extension 44 for insertion in one end of a bolt of cloth 46, the other end of which is engaged similarly by a similar fiat conical extension 48 carried on a stub shaft 50, which is journaled in the frame end wall 24 andadapted for being driven by a source of motive power in the housing 52. The housing 52 may also incltide gear change means and a gear shift lever 54 for controlling the direction and speed of movement of the cloth. It is understood that the motive power may also be applied to the bolt or roll of cloth on the member 38, which is normally the supply roll, to drive the same in any direction desired. All these and other constructional details are shown in full in the said copending patent application Serial No. 93,896, filed May 18, 1949, for Cloth Measuring Machines. In referring to said copending application, however, it is understood that it is only by way of example, illustrating one form of such machine with which the present cloth folding attachment may be employed, but it is not desired to be limited to said machine, since-the folding attachment of this invention may be employed with many other commonly known cloth inspecting and measuring machines.

It is also seen in Figures 1 and 2 that the end walls 22 and 24 of the machine 20 have upstanding integral wall projections or extensions 56 and 58 respectively, which are interconnected at their upper ends by the transverse tie rod 60. Notches or hook-shaped recesses 62 and 64 are formed in the forward upper portions of the two end walls 22 and 24 of the main frame of the machine, to receive the lower lateral support and guide bar 66 of the cloth folding attachment generally shown at 68. This bar 66 may be a little longer than the width of the spacing of the walls 22 and 24 of the main frame, so that its ends extend substantially to the right and left thereof as illustrated in Figure 1 and 2.

A guide strut 70 is disposed inclined obliquely toward the right and is secured permanently at its lower end 72 to the abutting portion of the support bar 66 by welding or in any other suitable fashion. The upper end 74 of the left guide strut 70 is secured by welding or otherwise in a permanent fashion, to the upper end 78 of the right obliquely inclined strut 76, and it is seen that the lower end 80 of the right strut 76 is permanently secured by welding or otherwise, to the right hand end portion of the horizontal support bar 66, so that a triangle is formed by the main support bar 66, and the two inclined struts 70 and 76.

An upright post member 82 is secured permanently at its lower end 84 by welding or otherwise, to the right hand end portion of the main support bar 66 and extends upwards substantially at right angles to bar 66. Since the cloth 88 is to pass over the struts 70 and 76, they are provided with smooth edges, and in fact strut 70 is preferably cylindrical, to minimize friction. An upper guide bar assembly member 86 of substantial length as seen, and shown in detail in Figures 3 to 10, extends horizontally across the space between the apex 74 of the triangle formed by struts 70 and 76, and the upper end of the support post 82, and includes a major body 88 of metal strip having openings 90 (see Fig. 3) in its opposite ends which are brought into alignment with corresponding holes in the apex 74 of the triangle and the upper end of the pont 82, bolts 92 (see Fig. 4) being inserted therein to' fix the parts together securely. It is seen that the assembly 86 is thus brought into parallelism with the lower main support bar 66.

The major body strip 88 of the upper guide assembly 86 is cut out at 94 and 96, leaving projections 98, 100 and 102, which are grooved out as at 104, 106 and 108, respectively to receive the left and right ends and middle portion of the support shaft 110, which thus extends across the recesses 94 and 96, being seated in the grooves as shown. Elongated cylindrical rollers 112 and 114 have axial bores 116 through which the support shaft 110 extends. To minimize friction, the bores 116 may be enlarged, and anti-friction bearings 118 may be in erted therein in the manner of Figures 4 and 6. A cylindrical cover member 120, shown in detail in Fig. 10, has a downwardly open slot or recess 122 formed therethrough longitudinally from one end to the other, so as to fit over the upper portion of the projection 100 in the manner of Figure 7, thus enclosing the portion of the shaft 110 which runs through the slot. The member 124 is also cylindrical at its right end 126 and tapers oif leftwardly to reduced thickness at its left end to merge with the thickness of the member 88, where it in turn is rounded off as at 128 shown in Figure 5. Where the members 120 and 124 are cylindrical, their outside dimeter is the same as that of the rollers 112 and 114, and form a continuation thereof so as to merge smoothly with the outer surface thereof. A groove or notch 130 is also cut on the undersurface of the cap member 124 as seen in Figure 9, running therethrough from one end to the other, to fit snugly over the upper portion of projection 98 and to enclose the left end of rod 110 in notch 104.

It is thus apparent that the entire upper assembly presents a substantially cylindrical surface for the cloth to ride over, and that most of the surface rotates on the bearings, to minimize friction. It is also seen from Figures 1 and 2, that there is an intermediate support post or arm 132 which is secured at its lower end 134 to the projection 58 by means of screws, bolts or the like. On its upper end 136 the post 132 has an upwardly open notch by means of which it engages the intermediate portion of the assembly 86, to furnish intermediate support thereto against bending due to its length as the cloth passes thereover. It is also apparent that the post supports the rod intermediate its ends and thus prevents sagging in the middle due to its length.

In use, the folding attachment is placed as shown, on the cloth measuring and inspecting machine, the object is to move the batch of cloth at the bottom of the machine, upwards, fold it vertically in half on fold line 152, and roll it up in bolt form on bolt 46, or on a roll at the same location, motive power being provided from a motor turning the bolt form 46. The cloth thus travels upwards in the direction of arrows 156 and 158, a portion going over the strut 70 and the other portion going over guide assembly 86, in the directions of arrows 160 and 162, respectively, the portion moving in direction of arrow 160 then moving over strut 76 and down in direction of arrow 164. As they now move downwardly, the two halves of the folded cloth pass on opposite sides of the split rod or bar 166 which is secured at its right end to the post 82 and extends over to the fold line 152, smoothing out the cloth before it is rolled onto the bolt form 46, both halves then flowing over lower bar 66 and onto form 46.

It is noted that in addition to the minimizing of friction of the cloth passing over the bar 86 by breaking up the roller surface carried by the said upper bar 86, into a plurality of rollers, in this instance the two rollers 112 and 114, sagging of the rollers is thus prevented as would be the case if a single roller were employed. Thus binding of the moving cloth is prevented as well as wrinkling or creasing during the folding operation.

Although the invention has been disclosed in specific form, it is understood that changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

A cloth folding device comprising main support bar means, first and second oblique strut means carried bysaid main support bar means and intersecting at their upper ends to form therewith a triangle, upper guide bar means connected at one end thereof to the apex of said triangle, and support post means carried by said main support bar means and secured at its upper end to another portion of said upper guide bar means; a plurality of roller members carried by said upper guide bar means; said upper guide bar means including a main body in the form of an elongated strip having at least two recesses formed in its upper edge with projections defining the two ends of each of said recesses, and having grooves formed in the upper portions of said projections to form seats; a support rod extending through said grooves and seated therein and extending across said recesses, said roller members being carried by said support rod for rotation in said recesses; first cap means carried by one of said projections and having an at least partly cylindrical outer surface of a diameter equal to that of said rollers; second cap means carried by another of said projections at points adjacent the point of interconnection of said upper support 6 Mamas"? bar means and said first and second oblique strut means, said second cap means having a first substantially cylindrical surface of a diameter equal to that of said rollers, and a second gradually tapering surface which tapers in a direction away from said rollers and toward said point of interconnection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Richardson June 11, 1929 Kurowski et al Dec. 3, 1929 Horton Dec. 29, 1936 Horton Dec. 29, 1936 Wood Apr. 6, 1937 Aeschbach Oct. 5, 1937 Sutcliflfe Mar. 26, 1940 Metzner Feb. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 24, 1887 France June 28, 1926 

